Relief expected for eroded Anna Maria shoreline

By Rick Catlin. Islander Reporter

Homeowners and property owners along the Gulf in the Bean Point area of Anna Maria and the city's bay side of North Shore Drive should be getting some much-needed relief very soon to protect their rapidly eroding shoreline.

Cathy Florko of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Beaches and Coastal Systems Unit told Mayor SueLynn last week she expects a .2 mile portion of the north end of the city at Bean Point and along the bay side will be included in the upcoming DEP list of new "critically eroded areas" for 2006.

The preliminary DEP report on Anna Maria recommends inclusion on the list, stating that "this segment has been monitored by Dr. R.G. Dean of the University of Florida and data was provided from November 2003 to August 2005. This short addition is recommended as an inlet shoreline segment."

What that means to affected residents, said the mayor, is that those areas can be included in the next beach renourishment project scheduled to begin around 2009.

"I don't have all the information yet," said SueLynn, "and Florko is waiting for the Dean report, but she said this is good news."

If the shoreline is included in the list as expected, federal and state dollars would pay for beach renourishment. Those areas of Anna Maria were excluded from the 2002 renourishment project because they were not designated as eroded shoreline by the DEP and some affected residents have paid for renourishment out of their own pocket.

The mayor said Florko will let her know when the list is finalized and officially approved.

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